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Sunday, March 25, 2012

Awake O Sleeper

Proverbs 19:15: "Laziness
casts one into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger."

I've been slowly reading through the Proverbs since August (yep, THAT
slow!). I want to really take in and process what each one is
saying. I want to get these truths into my heart, so I've been reading
and journaling about almost every one of them.

Sometimes I really have to think on one of them to get the full
effect. This was one of those that caused me to stop and ponder the
depths of the message.

How has laziness cast me into a deep sleep? I know this doesn't
happen in the literal sense, not for me anyway. With 8 children aged 12
to infant, I don't get much sleep at all---and I don't think I've slept deeply
since I was about 19 years old!

However, laziness has caused me to be "asleep" to some
things that are going on around me. It has caused me to be in denial
about certain parts of my life that need attention. Laziness keeps me
from seeing things that need to be done and changes that need to be made.
These can be things as simple as household chores, or as important as
correcting my children's behavior. It is sometimes so much easier to just
let the laundry pile up (either dirty in the basket or clean on the dresser) or
let the kid's bad attitude go unchecked than it is to put the effort into
fixing the problem. I am ignoring the problem and I'm ignoring the future
consequences that I know this laziness will bring. What kind of example is this to my children
and other people in my life over whom I have influence? What kind of legacy am I leaving?

Pretty soon, my laziness turns into apathy. I just don't care
anymore. I settle in my ways and am asleep to, and ignorant of, how much
better life would be if I'd be proactive.

How will I suffer hunger from being idle? To figure this one
out, I need to think about what sorts of things I'm hungry for. Here are
a few big ones on my list:

*A more regular Bible study time

*A happy and peaceful attitude

*A healthy and fit body

*An organized home

*A more consistent homeschooling schedule

Every one of these things is not being accomplished in my life the way it
could be because of idleness. I become slothful and the apathy creeps
in. Often times, it's easier to stay in the place that I am than it is to
step out and change.

However, God doesn’t
want me in this place of idleness and apathy! Instinctively, I know this---but this can be
such a hard habit to break free from.
When I imagine what God says to me in this place, I remember Ephesians
5:14: “Awake, you who sleep, arise from
the dead, and Christ will give you light.”

Just a few verses before that, I’m encouraged to walk as a
child of the light and to find out what is acceptable to the Lord (v.
8-10). How else can I do this but to dig
deep into His word and to spend time in prayer, calling on Him for help?

Looking back to my list of things I’m hungry for: we’ve all been taught that God wants us to
spend time in His word. We know that he
desires for us to have joy and peace in our life. But, did you know that it matters to God
whether or not my home is organized and my homeschool runs smoothly and my body
is healthy and fit? He knows the calm
and contentedness that these things will bring to my life. God really does care about these things that
we often think he’s too busy to deal with!

Ephesians gives us some practical steps to start and
continue walking as children of the light.
Verse 16 encourages us to “be wise
and redeem the time.” I love what
Matthew Henry says in his Commentary about this phrase. I know this is a little long but stick with
me---it’s good stuff:

“redeeming the time (v. 16), literally, buying
the opportunity. It is a metaphor taken from merchants
and traders who diligently observe and improve the seasons for merchandise and
trade. It is a great part of Christian wisdom to redeem the time. Good
Christians must be good husbands of their time, and take care to improve it to
the best of purposes, by watching against temptations, by doing good while it
is in the power of their hands, and by filling it up with proper employment—one
special preservative from sin. They should make the best use they can of the
present seasons of grace. Our time is a talent given us by God for some good
end, and it is misspent and lost when it is not employed according to his
design. If we have lost our time heretofore, we must endeavour to redeem it by
doubling our diligence in doing our duty for the future.”

How encouraging is that!
Our time is a talent given us by
God. What a great measuring stick by
which to check ourselves and evaluate our days.
In another part of this section of commentary, Henry talks about the
Christians who would “stir up themselves to their duty.” I don’t
know about you, but this encouragement makes me want to get up and buzz around
this house, cleaning and singing and hugging my children! It motivates me and
makes me want to kick laziness and apathy out the door!

It’s true that
“the days are evil” as verse 5:16 goes on to say---they’re also short
and time gets away from us faster than we’d like. As Henry encourages, let’s all “endeavour to redeem it by doubling our
diligence in doing our duty for the future.” Think of the amazing legacies we could leave!

Great post...I am afraid I have become ideal. Our sweet sixth child was stillborn 1-24-12 and I have had a hard time getting back to my routine. Thanks for the reminder how important it is. You have a beautiful family I am stopping by from a wise woman's link up.

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